2018 GAFCON interview with Vaughan Roberts

At GAFCON 2018 in Jerusalem, Dominic Steele spoke with Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St. Ebbe’s Oxford. Worth watching again in the light of this week’s disastrous moves by the Church of England House of Bishops.

“You  can’t compromise on the Apostolic faith. … if people move away from the Apostolic faith, they’re the breakers.”

Watch here.

An Eton Mess: The Failure of English Bishops

“The Church of England has finally announced its proposals to their General Synod to deal with the vexed question of how to respond to same-sex marriage. The presentation was led by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, Eton-educated Justin Welby and Stephen Cottrell, who together are seeking to lead the Church of England through these difficult times.

For the last six years the Church of England has been going through a process of discussion called “Living in Love and Faith” in order to get to this moment.

In a press release issued while Australia slept, the House of Bishops outlined the legislation they will propose to the upcoming General Synod.

So what are the plans, what do they mean, and what effect will they have on the wider Anglican Communion—especially here in Australia?…”

– David Ould writes at The Gospel Coalition Australia.

What’s an Eton mess?

“It’s a bowl full of broken bits of meringue, fruit and topped off with cream. If at this point you’re thinking that sounds awfully like what you did with your pavlova last year when you dropped it on the floor and rescued those bits not red-carded by the five second rule, then you would be absolutely correct. Eton Mess is, at it’s heart, a failed Pavlova dressed up in a fancy bowl and passed off as something worthy. It is the next generation of that other famous Anglican sweet; the fudge.”

What else is the Church of England on about these days?

Archbishop of Canterbury FC lace up for green campaign alongside Premier League stars

“The Archbishop of Canterbury’s football team will host a ‘green’ football match as part of a national campaign to raise awareness of the Climate Crisis with football the focus for practical steps to reduce carbon.”

GAFCON Response to CofE Bishops Statement

Archbishop Foley Beach responds on behalf of GAFCON to this week’s press release from the Church of England’s House of Bishops:

“What are the faithful in England and around the world to do now that the mother Church has departed from biblical faith and morality?  We cannot follow the Church of England down this path which leads to spiritual and moral bankruptcy.  Lord, have mercy upon us all.”

“19 January 2023
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,
Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ during this Epiphany Season!!

I write to you with a heavy heart as we are hearing of the continued Crisis of Leadership and Faith coming out of the Church of England.  Once again, our Western Anglican Provinces continue to ‘go their own way’ on matters of faith and practice without consultation or concern for the majority of Anglicans around the Global Communion.  Their actions not only deny holy practice, but reject the authority of Scripture, the teaching of the historic church, and the consensus of the Body of Christ from every tribe, tongue, people and nation alive today.

The release of the recent statement “Bishops propose prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God’s blessing of same-sex couples” (Find It Here) is a clear rejection of Lambeth 1998, I:10, and cannot help but ask the question: “What is next?” We continue to find ourselves disillusioned with the incredible audacity of major unilateral decisions (e.g. changing the nature of what it means to be ‘male and female’ in his image (Genesis 1:27) that run counter to ‘the faith once delivered’ (Jude 3).

What makes this current (and continued) Crisis of Leadership and Faith in the Church of England especially troubling is the clear and willful decision by the bishops to blatantly ignore the global Anglican consensus (as well as many more other Christian traditions) and ‘bless’ in the Name of Christ and the Church what God clearly calls sin.  God does not bless sin regardless of the stamp of endorsement by church leaders, clergy, and bishops.

Most of our Provinces have their origins in the Church of England because of the incredible and sacrificial missionary ministry of faithful British followers of Jesus.  What are the faithful in England and around the world to do now that the mother Church has departed from biblical faith and morality?  We cannot follow the Church of England down this path which leads to spiritual and moral bankruptcy.  Lord, have mercy upon us all.

Gafcon has a better story to tell: the story of our Lord Jesus who has and is rescuing us from brokenness (and often ourselves) and His unmistakably gracious offer of salvation which calls us ‘into the light’ where repentance and trust mark a new, right relationship to God through Christ.  Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus can be saved (Romans 10:13).  And in this great salvation story through Jesus, the Apostle Paul remarks about our former way of living, “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” [see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11].  He says further that “If anyone is in Christ, s/he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Jesus adds that his followers are called to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:15-21).  We in Gafcon, call on the leaders in the Church of England to repent and return to the teaching and practice of Holy Scripture and the historical one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

Brothers and Sisters, let us pray earnestly for the faithful followers of Jesus in the Church of England as they struggle to fight and repel this false teaching which has been thrust upon them.  Let us also pray for their bishops and leaders that God would turn their hearts to return to His ways.

The Lord richly bless you!
Your Brother in Jesus Christ,

The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach 
Chair, Gafcon Primates Council and Primate of North America.”

– From GAFCON.

See also:

Together in Love & Faith? Should the Church Bless Same-Sex Partnerships? A Response to the Bishop of Oxford – Vaughan Roberts.

“Who do they think they are?” Church Society responds to the CofE House of Bishops Proposals for Same-Sex Blessings

Church Society’s Lee Gatiss responds to the ‘unworkable compromise’ that is the Church of England’s House of Bishops proposal for Same-Sex Blessings:

“The bishops of the Church of England have finally announced what it is they want to do at the end of the Living in Love and Faith process. …

They will be issuing an apology to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual, Queer, Intersex, and other people (LGBTQI+) for the ‘rejection, exclusion, and hostility’ they have faced in churches. After what they describe as a 6 year period of listening and learning, they have decided they will ‘offer the fullest possible pastoral provision without changing the Church’s doctrine of Holy Matrimony for same-sex couples through a range of draft prayers, known as Prayers of Love and Faith, which could be used voluntarily in churches for couples who have marked a significant stage of their relationship such as a civil marriage or civil partnership.’

They will also be replacing Issues in Human Sexuality, which binds clergy to celibacy outside of heterosexual marriage, with new pastoral guidance. The basis for this is given in large bold letters as ‘God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.’ (1 John 4:16). …”

He argues that, despite claims to the contrary, it is a change of doctrine. Of the Bishops behind this, he writes,

“Who do they think they are? Bishops are asked at their consecrations: ‘Will you teach the doctrine of Christ as the Church of England has received it, will you refute error, and will you hand on entire the faith that is entrusted to you?’ Were they serious when they replied ‘With the help of God, I will’? What are we to conclude about God’s help, if they no longer will? It would be a fearsome thing to be led by those whom God had abandoned.”

Further, he writes,

“There has been no convincing argument made for us to change our doctrine and practice. Living in Love and Faith and its associated survey, provided no warrant for change, no biblical justifications for a shift of this magnitude, as I have already stated elsewhere.

The Bishop of Oxford made no real attempt to argue from the Bible in his case for change, so ably countered by Vaughan Roberts.

The Bishop of Worcester delved so deeply into the Bible that he was able to make a puerile point about Solomon having hundreds of wives, which apparently proves there is no biblical doctrine of marriage. Teenagers would hoot at such impudence in a sixth form debating society, but it is hardly biblical scholarship. Again, Martin Davie easily takes his argument apart piece by rusting piece.”

– Read it all at Church Society’s blog.

‘Holy Scripture is the one that must give way’: Bishop Calls for Church of England to Change its Doctrine on Sexuality

In his The Briefing for 17 January 2023, Dr Albert Mohler addresses last week’s letter in support of same sex marriage from Bishop John Inge of Worcester.

– Hear Parts 2 and 3 of The Briefing. Image: Bishop Inge.

C of E setting up £100m fund to ‘address past wrongs’ of slave trade links

“The Church of England has committed £100m to a fund it is setting up to compensate for its historical benefit from the international slave trade. …

The church is not using the term ‘reparations’ as the scheme will not compensate individuals but will support projects ‘focused on improving opportunities for communities adversely impacted by historic slavery’. …”

– Report from The Guardian.

See also:

Church plans to spend £100m atoning for its historical slave trade links after branding it a ‘shameful and horrific sin’ – Daily Mail.

“Senior clerics have admitted that the £100million investment, to be made over the next decade, is a huge sum at a time when parishes and congregations are struggling but insisted the church had to ‘address past wrongs’.”

Canadian assisted suicide activity book for kids

“Canada’s new official religion of death now does kids outreach!

The country’s government has discovered it can save A LOT of money by encouraging citizens to kill themselves in its MAID program (Medical Assistance in Dying).…”

– Not the Bee highlights a Canadian activity book for children.

From the activity book (PDF file):

“The word ‘medical’ means the science of medicine, and ‘assistance’ means help. So MAiD means that medicine is used to help someone with their death. A doctor or nurse practitioner (a nurse with special training) uses medicines to stop the person’s body from working. When their body stops working, the person dies.

This is done in a way that does not hurt the person. …”

Successful religious discrimination claim in foster-carer case

“Just before Christmas, a significant religious discrimination decision was handed down in the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal. …”

– At Law and Religion Australia, Neil Foster gives background to a decision handed last week.

(Image: Assoc Prof. Foster at a Sydney Diocese training day.)

Freedom, Faith and Forgiveness — Os Guinness

In another ‘must see’ interview, John Anderson speaks with Os Guinness.

55 minutes, well worth your time.

Thoughtcrime is now a reality in Britain

“Whatever your view on abortion, even if you are strongly pro-choice, this whole episode should worry you immensely. The implications for personal liberty are terrifying. If an arrest for silent prayer is not an instance of Orwellian ‘thoughtcrime’, then I don’t know what is. …”

– Spiked. Further coverage and commentary from Not the Bee.

Essendon apologises to Andrew Thorburn

“Religious freedom received an early Christmas present this year with Essendon Football Club today issuing an apology to Andrew Thorburn.

The forced resignation of Andrew Thorburn in October, following less than 24 hours in the job as Essendon’s new CEO, was one of the biggest stories in Victoria for 2022. …”

– Murray Campbell has the story.

Anti-Conversion Coercion in Tasmania

At AP (The Australian Presbyterian), David Robertson shares his thoughts on what he calls “The Canary in the Coal Mine” –

“The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute (TLRI) have produced a report for the Tasmanian government recommending new laws to deal with sexual orientation and gender identity conversion practices (SOGI). This doesn’t sound as though it would be riveting reading – and for many people within and without Tasmania, it hardly seems relevant to their lives.

I read the report, mainly to prepare a short response. However I found it so disturbing and revealing that I have taken some time to respond in more detail. Why? Because it is a great example of how progressive ideology takes over the basic civic institutions of Western societies. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

The report itself is 332 pages long. Which itself is a statement. Who is going to be bothered to read a report of that size on a subject which seems so inconsequential to most of us? If people bother with it at all it is likely to be within the comfort zones of their own interest groups – or they will just skim read it – note the various buzz words and either agree with the conclusions of the report, or just shrug their shoulders and walk away. Who cares? I do.

And so I thought I would share with you the main lessons to be learned from this report – lessons that can apply in many situations (e.g. The GRA reforms in Scotland, the compulsory trans ideology in the US, or the ‘diversity’ managers being imposed on the NHS in the UK, and corporations throughout the world). The message and the methodology is the same.

One of the main problems is the use of language. I am totally opposed to any form of conversion therapy which is coercive and harmful. Arguing against this report is not the same as arguing for conversion therapy. It is ironic that an ideology which is supposed to be against binary choices – only offers a binary choice. You are either on the ‘good’ side, the ‘right side of history’, the progressive; or you are an evil, hateful regressive. Although the report doesn’t put it in that language, the implication is the same. But life is much more complex than such simplistic binary views.

First, we will look at the sections of the report that deal with pseudo-science, the need for new legislation and the question of harm. Part two will look at the confused language, the question of consent and the definition of conversion. Part three looks at who the report is really aimed at and what its effect will be. …”

Part One: Pseudo-Science and Pseudo–Needs.

Part Two: The Emperor Has No Clothes.

Part Three: The World Turned Upside Down.

No more long grass for the Church of England. Repent or Differentiate.

From The Pastor’s Heart –

“One of the most respected voices in the Evangelical world, the senior minister of St Ebbes in Oxford, Vaughan Roberts, is calling on his own bishop and many of the leaders of the Church of England to repent and return to the Apostolic Christian Faith – or failing that, pursue a provincial-level split.

He says Church of England Bishops, who spent last week in meetings, have run out of long grass to hide in and says the Church of England is sleep walking towards the same disaster that has happend to the Episcopal Church in America, losing 100,000 members and seeing hundreds of clergy leaving or deposed. …”

– Watch or listen at The Pastor’s Heart.

Resistance and fidelity – Munro’s choice

“As the new conservative evangelical ‘flying’ Bishop of Ebbsfleet launches off, the Bishop of Rochester’s written answer to a question from a General Synod member shines a light on the Church of England’s direction of travel. …”

– At Anglican Ink, Julian Mann points out the difficulties facing an evangelical bishop in the Church of England. Also a good reminder to pray for wisdom for those in such positions.

(Photo: Church Society.)

The Status Quo Is The Only Option

“Following the last meeting of the College of Bishops to consider the next steps in the Living in Love and Faith process, it was reported that there was general agreement that simply restating the existing ban on same-sex marriages or blessings in church was not an option.

Sadly, I agree. It will not be enough merely to restate the ban. Clearly there are large numbers of people in the church, in General Synod, and even in the College of Bishops, who will need to have the biblical and theological basis of the ban explained to them. They will need what the Living in Love and Faith resources have consistently failed to provide: teaching about the historic, orthodox position of the church, as evidenced in Scripture, and outlined in the formularies of the Church of England itself. …”

– Ros Clarke at Church Society’s blog looks at what is needed in the Church of England.

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